User and apparent anarchist, @n0nym0us, made an announcement today that the site administrators, lackattack, king achilles, and AndyDufresne have been stripped of their admin powers and given to the members of the Conquer Club community as an act to promote "FR33D0M" and squash corruption. Hundreds of bans, premium-giving, and dice adjustments later, Conquer Club is left with one hell of an April Fool's joke!

Ah, yes, good times. I rather enjoyed giving the Swedish Chef a New Recruit ban for those April Fool's Days of pseudo-Swedish jibber-jabber. Why a New Recruit ban? How do you think Swedish Chef gets his food to taste so fresh? Bork! Bork! Bork!

lackattack never fails to give us a good scare on April 1st! Speaking of the Webmaster, I'm looking forward to a little something I'm cooking up that should be coming within the next issue or two... Stay tuned!

Oh, I thought I'd mention - you guys are more than welcome to post topics in the Newsletter forum! Want to talk about an article idea you've been thinking about? Want to discuss your favorite (or least favorite) things about the CC Dispatch? Want to make some suggestions to help improve our Newsletter? Feel free!

In addition, for those of you that haven't found out already, the CC Dispatch is on Twitter and Facebook! Follow us @CCDispatch on Twitter or 'like' our fan page at facebook.com/ConquerClubDispatch! The executives and I will try to entertain and inform you, as well as get your opinions on things! One of these days I'll figure out what the issue is with linking our Twitter account to our Facebook fan page, haha. This past fortnight, I asked what you guys look for in a Doubles partner. Here are a couple of replies!

@Boxtrocity wrote:@CCDispatch I look for someone that I can work with to make a plan in chat. If you don't communicate and work together, you lose.

@Ltg1969 wrote:@CCDispatch Cooperation and communication.

Valid points, indeed! What do you guys think? Let us know by replying to this thread! (For those of you Subscribers, just click the header at the top to go to the thread!)

Speaking of Subscribers, it's that time again! Our Subscriber of the Issue is, unbelievably, our very own Community Manager, AndyDufresne! Just send me a PM describing your favorite April Fool's joke that's ever been done on Conquer Club and a General Achievement Medal is yours!

Last, but certainly not least, I'd like to welcome a new member of the Newsletter Executive team, former Strategy Reporter (now Strategy Executive), Viceroy63! He's been doing amazing things for my baby of a section ( ), so I am excited to see him do great things for us in the future! I hope you all have been enjoying the young "Office of Strategic Services" and will continue to as we see it develop more under Viceroy's leadership!

I think I've rambled on a bit, so I'll just leave you to explore what we have to offer this issue!

Happy April Fools day everyone! We have further Civil War correspondences from DoomYoshi, shieldgenerator7 brings us another chapter in his story, and amazzony talks about tournaments, her clan, and baseless rumors.

Want to get into the Mafia scene, but don't know how to play or even what it is? Consult these threads: Mafia Information, Mafia and You, and Rules and Terms of Mafia.Too much work? Too lazy to read through everything? No worries, you can always jump right into a game and ask for other players or the game runner to help guide you.

What is "Mafia"?Mafia, for those of you that don't know, is a game that generally takes place in a town, where the townspeople have to determine who the mafia (or "scum") is and lynch them via a majority vote during the day and the mafia try to kill everyone at night and bluff their way out of getting killed by the town.

Mafia NewsTown destroyed Mafia in Hectic Eclectic Mafia, culminating in lynching the godfather on Day 5. They were no doubt helped by the fact that the SKer won due to an alternate win condition, leaving only one nightkill each night.

With 2 mafia factions in Fire and Ice Mafia, town eventually managed to pull out the win in a LYLO position with only 3 players remaining. A very well played game all around, especially since the last townies were able to kill the last Ice Goon.

Mafia CalloutsCalling all players interested! Some mafia games need some filling:

Advanced Roles and Strategy by safariguy5We discuss the merits and disadvantages of deadlines in this edition.

Deadlines

What is It?Deadlines refer to the allotted time given to each day and night cycle. These vary, but generally can be divided into two categories; hard and soft. A hard deadline is a deadline announced either at the beginning of the game or at the beginning of the phase. A soft deadline tends to be more ambiguous and is invoked mostly when the game appears to stall.

ExampleThe moderator announces a 7 day deadline at the beginning of Day 1. This is a hard deadline. But if the mod announced a 7 day deadline after Day 1 has begun, then this is a soft deadline.

How to Use this StrategyDeadlines tend to affect day phases much more than night phases, so most of the following discussion will be directed towards Day deadlines.

The older style of mafia games emphasized very strict hard deadlines. They were often only one or two weeks given for each day phase. This encouraged players to be active and post multiple times in a day. It also was conducive to shorter games as the hard deadline ensured the game would progress steadily.

Over time however, with the influx of new members, the soft deadline has become more common as many players could not post multiple times in a day due to time constraints. Soft deadlines also allowed for more discussion and better cases to be brought forward during the day phases. With hard deadlines, the submariner was most often the person who was lynched due to time pressures. However, with the rise of the soft deadline, games tended to go on for several months as a crucial day could take weeks to end.

“5 more! 5 more! Give me 5 more!” screamed john9blue’s older brother, DoomYoshi. “5 more push-ups, and you’ll be done!” “I… can’t…” john9blue protested. “Nonsense! Of course you can!” DoomYoshi watched as his younger brother lowered himself for the 72nd time. john9blue struggled to get himself back up. “4 more! 4 more!” “I’m trying! I’m trying!” john9blue grunted as he bent his elbows for the next pushup. “That’s it! That’s it! All the way! All the way!” DoomYoshi would not relent and encouraged his brother to push himself. After 3 more painful repetitions, john9blue collapsed onto his stomach. “Ow.” “Good job, john9blue,” congratulated DoomYoshi. “You’re on your way to being a robotoid master.” “I just wish it weren’t so tough,” commented john9blue, taking his brother’s hand to help himself off the floor. “No, you don’t,” returned DoomYoshi, throwing a towel into john9blue’s sweaty hands. “The tougher you are, the more prepared you are for what’s to come. Believe me, when your power goes out and you have to move those biomech arms yourself, you’ll be glad you’ve trained this hard.” “Yeah, I guess so.” “No guessing! Either yes or no, not ‘guess so,’” exploded DoomYoshi. “Take sides, or be a push over!” “Aren’t I one already?” “Quit the smart alec attitude and take your shower,” DoomYoshi gave john9blue a noogie. “And behave in there! Don’t try any funny business.” “You know me,” smiled john9blue as he headed towards the musty shower room. After a quick 1 minute shower, he turned the fresh water off to save more water for drinking. He thought briefly of the water recycler at the center of the city and how he wondered how it worked, and why it could only recycle so much water at a time. His curious thoughts continued as he dried himself with a half-used towel and dressed himself in his casual clothes. He met up with DoomYoshi right outside the shower room and they headed together to the food distribution center. They grabbed their food and then trekked back home, carrying their military-grade duffle bag of supplies on their backs. “DoomYoshi,” john9blue said sincerely. “Do you think our parents would have chosen this path for us?” “I… don’t know,” DoomYoshi replied, head down at the thought of their deceased parents. “I think they would have wanted us to stand strong against oppressors, and that is what we are doing.” “What oppressors? This city is the only living thing left on the planet.” “Well, we’re here to keep it that way,” said DoomYoshi gruffly. “You mean to keep other things from growing on Earth?” john9blue grunted and pulled the strap on his duffle bag a little. “No, to keep this city alive, so one day we can repopulate the world,” DoomYoshi said. “That’s what I meant.” “And what part does operating robotic exoskeletons hold in this scheme?” “Ha, ha,” chuckled DoomYoshi. “We’re protectors from unknown threats. We’re also most likely the ones to go and explore the wilderness when the leader deems it safe.” “That’ll sure be interesting,” john9blue commented. He shifted the weight on his shoulders to one side. “And dangerous,” added DoomYoshi as they reached their house. He pressed the button on the outside wall to activate the speech recognition program. “Hello, DoomYoshi,” shieldgenerator greeted. “Requesting access to your quarters?” “Yes, open it at once.” “Opening door…” There was a small click. “Door opened.” “This unlocking system the city has on all its buildings can be rather annoying than helpful at times,” thought DoomYoshi out loud. “It seems a simple key would do.” “I hear you brother,” john9blue commented. He thankfully dropped his worn duffle bag on the floor next to the dining table. “I’m glad we only have to do this once a month. If we had to do it every day, that’d be way too tiring.” “Don’t pretend you’re tired from carrying just that,” DoomYoshi scolded. “I know you’re just trying to get out of tomorrow’s workout.” Before john9blue could respond, sirens blared throughout the house. “C’mon, let’s go john9blue!” DoomYoshi scurried to the other room to get his robot gear on. “We’re being summoned for a crucial event!”

When we left off, Sherman had defended himself against both accusations of cruelty from Hood and charges of inconsideration from the Mayor of Atlanta, Calhoun. If you recall, Sherman's defense against Hood was centered on the point that in war, many atrocities are seen, so calling one cruel when there are so many others that are cruel doesn't make sense. Hood rebutts (note that this letter was sent the same day that Sherman was replying to the mayor):

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF TENNESSEE,September 12, 1864.

Maj. Gen. W. T. SHERMAN,Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi:

GENERAL; I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th [10th] instant, with its inclosure, in reference to the women, children, and others whom you have thought proper to expel from their homes in the city of Atlanta. Had you seen proper to let the matter rest there, I would gladly have allowed your letter to close this correspondence, and without your expressing it in words would have been willing to believe that whilst "the interests of the United States," in your opinion, compelled you to an act of barbarous cruelty, you regretted the necessity, and we would have dropped the subject. But you have chosen to indulge in statements which I feel compelled to notice, at least so far as to signify my dissent and not allow silence in regard to them to be construed as acquiescence. I see nothing in your communication which induces me to modify the language of condemnation with which I characterized your order. It but strengthens me in the opinion that it stands" pre-eminent in the dark history of war, for studied and ingenious cruelty." Your original order was stripped of all pretenses; you announced the edict for the sole reason that it was "to the interest of the United States." This alone you offered to us and the civilized world as an all-sufficient reason for disregarding the laws of God and man. You say that "General Johnston himself, very wisely and properly, removed the families all the way from Dalton down," It is due to that gallant soldier and gentleman to say that no act of his distinguished career gives the least color to your unfounded aspersions upon his conduct. He depopulated no villages nor towns nor cities, either friendly or hostile. He offered and extended friendly aid to his unfortunate fellow-citizens who desired to flee from your fraternal embraces. You are equally unfortunate in your attempt to find a justification for this act of cruelty either in the defense of Jonesborough, by General Hardee, or of Atlanta by myself. General Hardee defended his position in front of Jonesborough at the expense of injury to the houses, an ordinary, proper, and justifiable act of war. I defended Atlanta at the same risk and cost. If there was any fault in either case, it was your own, in not giving notice, especially in the case of Atlanta, of your purpose to shell the town, which is usual in war among civilized nations. No inhabitant was expelled from his home and fireside by the orders of General Hardee or myself, and therefore your recent order can find no support from the conduct of either of us. I feel no other emotion than pain in reading that portion of your letter which attempts to justify your shelling Atlanta without notice under pretense that I defended Atlanta upon a line so close to town that every cannon shot, and many musket balls from your line of investment, that over-shot their mark went into the habitations of women and children. I made no complaint of your firing into Atlanta in any way you thought proper. I make none now, but there are a hundred thousand witnesses that you fired into the habitations of women and children for weeks, firing far above and miles beyond my line of defense. I have too good an opinion, founded both upon observation and experience, of the skill of your artillerists to credit the insinuation that they for several weeks unintentionally fired too high for my modest field-works, and slaughtered women and children by accident and want of skill. The residue of your letter is rather discussion. It opens a wide field for the discussion of questions which I do not feel are committed to me. I am only a general of one of the armies of the Confederate States, charged with military operations in the field, under the direction of my superior officers, and I am not called upon to discuss with you the causes of the present war, or the political questions which led to or resulted from it. These grave and important questions have been committed to far abler hands than mine, and I shall only refer to them so far as to repel any unjust conclusion which might be drawn from my silence. You charge my country with "daring and badgering you to battle." The truth is, we sent commissioners to you respectfully offering a peaceful separation before the first gun was fired on either side. You say we insulted your flag. The truth is we fired upon it and those who fought under it when you came to our doors upon the mission of subjugation. You say we seized upon your forts and arsenals and made prisoners of the garrisons sent to protect us against negroes and Indians. The truth is, we, by force of arms, drove out insolent intruders, and took possession of our own forts and arsenals to resist your claims to dominion over masters, slaves, and Indians, all of whom are to this day, with a unanimity unexampled in the history of the world, warring against your attempts to become their masters. You say that we tried to force Missouri and Kentucky into rebellion in spite of themselves. The truth is my Government, from the beginning of this struggle to this hour, has again and again offered, before the whole world to leave it to the unbiased will of these States and all others to determine for themselves whether they will cast their destiny with your Government or ours? and your Government has resisted this fundamental principle of free institutions with the bayonet, and labors daily by force and fraud to fasten its hateful tyranny upon the unfortunate freemen of these States. You say we falsified the vote of Louisiana. The truth is, Louisiana not only separated herself from your Government by nearly a unanimous vote of her people, but has vindicated the act upon every battle-field from Gettysburg to the Sabine, and has exhibited an heroic devotion to her decision which challenges the admiration and respect of every man capable of feeling sympathy for the oppressed or admiration for heroic valor. You say that we turned loose pirates to plunder your unarmed ships. The truth is, when you robbed us of our part of the navy, we built and bought a few vessels, hoisted the flag of our country, and swept the seas, in defiance of your navy, around the whole circumference of the globe. You say we have expelled Union families by thousands. The truth is not a single family has been expelled from the Confederate States, that I am aware of, but, on the contrary, the moderation of our Government toward traitors has been a fruitful theme of denunciation by its enemies and many well-meaning friends of our cause. You say my Government, by acts of Congress, has "confiscated all debts due Northern men for goods sold and delivered." The truth is our Congress gave due and ample time to your merchants and traders to depart from our shores with their ships, goods, and effects, and only sequestrated the property of our enemies in retaliation for their acts, declaring us traitors and confiscating our property wherever their power extended, either in their country or our own. Such are your accusations, and such are the facts known of all men to be true. You order into exile the whole population of a city, drive men, women, and children from their homes at the point of the bayonet, under the plea that it is to the interest of your Government, and on the claim that it is an act of "kindness to these families of Atlanta." Butler only banished from New Orleans the registered enemies of his Government, and acknowledged that he did it as a punishment. You issue a sweeping edict covering all the inhabitants of a city and add insult to the injury heaped upon the defenseless by assuming that you have done them a kindness. This you follow by the assertion that you will "make as much sacrifice for the peace and honor of the South as the best born Southerner." And because I characterized what you call a kindness as being real cruelty you presume to sit in judgment between me and my God and you decide that my earnest prayer to the Almighty Father to save our women and children from what you call kindness is a "sacrilegious, hypocritical appeal." You came into our country with your army avowedly for the purpose of subjugating free white men, women, and children, and not only intend to rule over them, but you make negroes your allies and desire to place over us an inferior race, which we have raised from barbarism to its present position, which is the highest ever attained by that race in any country in all time. I must, therefore, decline to accept your statements in reference to your kindness toward the people of Atlanta, and your willingness to sacrifice everything for the peace and honor of the South, and refuse to be governed by your decision in regard to matters between myself, my country, and my God. You say, "let us fight it out like men." To this my reply is, for myself, and, I believe, for all the true men, aye, and women and children, in my country, we will fight you to the death. Better die a thousand deaths than submit to live under you or your Government and your negro allies. Having answered the points forced upon me by your letter of the 9th [10th] of September, I close this correspondence with you, and notwithstanding your comments upon my appeal to God in the cause of humanity, I again humbly and reverently invoke His Almighty aid in defense of justice and right.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,J. B. HOOD,General.

Now this is a fairly meaty claim. The first paragraph is largely a matter of people being blinded by their own sense of right. Nobody can say that Sherman or Hood is right on those issues, as there is probably some degree of truth, and of falsehood, in both arguments.

The second paragraph is very interesting, and one that allows us to see, exactly, what it was like to be a Confederate soldier who believed in the confederacy. Once again, these claims are unassailable from most moral perspectives. However, if one assumes that 'might makes right' or that the United States had a Manifest Destiny, or that they deserve and should police the world, then those claims will seem ridiculous.

I would like to draw attention to a portion of the third paragraph:

"but you make negroes your allies and desire to place over us an inferior race, which we have raised from barbarism to its present position, which is the highest ever attained by that race in any country in all time"

This is Hood's downfall to his argument. There is no proof that Sherman wanted the black people of Southern US to be placed 'over' the whites. And yes, it may have been the highest position ever attained, but that doesn't mean that it is right for black people to remain in poor position.

Hood was unfortunately shortsighted in his very core beliefs. I encourage you to take some time with this piece. It perfectly captures the prevailing attitudes.

I know I promised a double-size this time, but I am still searching for the perfect series to continue this. So, our conclusion is coming up next.

Q. How did you find CC, and how long did it take before you got involved in the tournament section?

I was suggested to check out the site by a friend who we played a lot of RISK together. He never became serious about CC, I've been hooked on the game since November 2006. I had to look up the dates because I had no idea. First I started playing in tournaments (September 2007) and the first tournament that I ran was just a month later. Once I got the taste, I was drawn to tournaments really fast and for the first 3 years I was super active, both playing, running and helping out in other ways; since last year I'm feeling that the excitement of tournaments and CC has started to wear off.

Q. Which tournament did you most enjoy running?

This is a really unfair question. I've ran 143 tournaments with all kind of different settings, formats, themes, my own original ideas, created and ran official CC tournaments, rescued tournaments, been running them alone, with co-hosts and as a "sitter", was the leader of two multiorganiser tournaments. Every tournament has been enjoyable to run in a way, all of them have had hiccups and most of them have made me wonder at least once why on earth am I doing it. At the end of the day though you get the answer to the question when you get to declare the winner and enjoy compliments from people who liked the tournament.

Q. Vodka, or whiskey?

If I had to pick then vodka in a cocktail. Though prefer a good English or Scandinavian cider. Or a glass of semisweet wine.

Q. What keeps you coming back?

My clan, Generation One, those wonderful people. It's the only reason why I've stuck around this long. Whenever I feel like being tired of everything that is going on and not finding my games and/or tournaments enough to keep me having fun then I have always had a place to hide out until the motivation returns. Thanks to tournaments I ended up there and thanks to my clan mates I've been able to enjoy CC for such a long time.

Q. Hath: great member of G1 or the GREATEST member of G1?

A really great member! Though I would never dare to show my face in the clan forums again if I didn't mention the biggest slacker Serbia as G1's greatest member. But really, all of G1 is greatest for me. We have such a wide range of different people all over the world who make such a wise company.

Q. Who are your favorite tournament players?

I'm going to give another diplomatic answer here but I cannot pick names. I've had over 2000 different people playing in my tournaments and it's impossible to pick from them. For me the players who take interest and time to check out the tournament, notice mistakes and challenge my decisions in a respectful way, respect the competitors and the organizer and just show general interest and appreciation for the work that is put into running tournaments are the ones who I always wish and hope to find in my tournaments. Through years there's been hundreds of people like that.

Q. What has been your all time favorite tournament that you've run?

You are persistent but I still don't have an answer to that. I looked through the list of my organised tournaments, there are good things and bad things related to all of them, fortunately mostly positive emotions but nothing pops up as a real favourite.

Q. What is your favorite line of the Estonian national anthem, and what does it mean to you?

I cannot pick a single line because the meaning has been spread to different lines, but living currently in England, these words are and will always be very important to me, wherever I am, wherever I will be: I shall not find such everIn this huge wide worldWhich would be so dear to meAs you, my fatherland!

Q. Have you ever thought about adding more z's to your name?

Now that would be just confusing and could be seen as me being sleepy all the time. zzzz…

Q. Where can I (The Bison King) find the mysterious cities of gold?

Do you really think that you'd be the person who I'd share the knowledge if I had it?

Q. Must a son atone for the sins of his father?

No, never. It often happens that they have to but I believe that we are all responsible only for our own actions and words. We influence others with ours but we can be punished only for our mistakes.

Q. When will you wear wigs?

A colourful clown wig most likely once I learn to juggle and create balloon animals beyond amateur level, hopefully never though.

Q. Which was your favorite tournament to run?

Again? You just won't give up.

Q. You seem to have rescued a lot of tournaments that others have dropped. Do you find it extra interesting, trying to unravel a tangled mess?

Absolutely. It was a great new way to find joy in running tournaments and add another level to helping out. It's always interesting to find out how big of a mess the abandoned tournament is (usually a big one) and then find a way to fix it, it's like solving a puzzle.

Q. Kittens or werewolves? Which are more cuddly?

Werewolves. At least you know to be on your guard all the time, the cuteness of kittens can create false safety.

Q. If you were invited to dinner, and found out that Hannibal Lecter was the guest of honour, what would you do?

Pack a gun and end the dinner before it starts.

Q. If you're falling-down drunk, but you're already laying on the floor, can you go any lower?

You've reached the lowest point when you are laying in your vomit… Think about it next time you are drinking on the floor.

Q. Which is the more important cultural icon: PEZ or M&Ms?

M&Ms. Chocolate has way more power.

Q. What are your favorite cookies and why?

Coconut, because my grandmother makes the most delicious ones.

Q. Do you prefer syrup, or jelly?

Jelly.

Q. How long have you been pregnant?Really? That's the best the CC rumour mill comes up for me? I'm intrigued now though.

The Strategy Section of issue 68 of this Newsletter, promises to be an exciting one for sure. And this is no "April Fools" joke on you; I assure you.

We begin with our guest writer and his strategical insights as to when to be Passive and await your opportunity to attack and when to take charge of the game right from the start. "Proactive or Reactive" is a must read from the writers own experiences. And as he is French, we also provide this article in the French language version for the "Madam's e Monsuier'es" in our ranks.

Secondly I continue my three part series on the Bonus Monkey In Which I explain about the many services that the BM's provides for the rest of the players in the game, making it easier to win. Be sure to read, "The Bonus Monkey is Your Friend, Leave Him for Last. Part 02."

And introducing exclusively for the Newsletter, "The Debriefing of Dhallmeyers Game 10727863." In this first of a series of four articles we explore the many strategies and tragedies of this game as we take you round by breath taking round through this tournament game. Assessed by Dhallmeyer himself, This promises to be a most interesting read.

So with no further ado, just sit back and enjoy the Strategy Section of Issue 68 of your Newsletter.

What's your style of play? Are you the kind of player who waits for mistakes and bad lucks on your opponents move before making a move? Or do you prefer to be in control of the situation and force your opponent to play the way that you want them to on some turns, like a mastermind of the game? A lot of players will simply say ``it depends on the settings`` and maybe they are right. A majority of players would say ``the first one to move is the one who lost`` and again, maybe they are right. This article will not explain how to play, but I want you to open your mind about some attitudes about the game and ways to think of the best strategy.

In a team game, have you ever told your partner "I don't know what to play, we'll wait to see what move the opponent will make." I'm sure you did once, at least. That's wise, but have you a long term vision? Or you just always react of what your opponents does?

Example for a quad

I got an example of a quad game on "Siege!," no spoils, fog, #Game 10544632. Seems like a game as normal as it is, but I'm very proud of my team for winning this. When it first started I said to myself that they have a very good drop.

We started to play, but my teammates and I never wrote anything on team chat until round 09! We played this game, but it's like we didn't even try to win, like it was hopeless. Our tactic was simple, install Madd777 on throne and keep him there. We wanted that because he was the only player with a presence in the castle (throne and inner walls). we didn't want to be only outside from the castle.

That was the difficult part, to sit him on the throne and keep it. Our dices weren't good at first and we were giving up, without really trying anything else. We were just reacting of what the opponents does. Except for one thing, I took control of the wood camp to gain a bonus +1 troops.

At round 9 Mad777 broke the silence and started to talk, asking a simple question. It gaves me hope, nothing was lost at this point in the game and I started to lead this game. We were 8 round without really doing anything, and the opponents kind of saw that so they went asleep as well and didn't see our big comeback at first.

The next 5 rounds we were talking a lot in team chat and that really made a difference. At the end we even making jokes, the mood was good. That game was really fun to play, the other team did well, especially when we kill the first one, making a 4 vs 3 game, they were on alert mode. They turned proactive when we did so, but that was a little too late.

The big difference was that at the end, we were proactive and not just reactive to what they did. We dictated the game forcing them to makes moves that we want they do. For example: We knew they had to take back the throne so while they where trying for that, we killed one of the opponent!

This game wasn't for any tournament or clan war, that was just a game, but I can tell you that it was fun to play... and win.

Examples for 1 vs 1

I'll give you another example, this time a 1 vs 1. I love to play on New World and WWII Poland, they are technical, but easy to learn. There's a strategy loved by a great numbers of players, make a stack and sit until the others make a moves. A patience game. They hope their stack will resist and strike back after. That's sounds like a plan...

However, in a 10 troops vs 8 troops, you may or not win the territory. I don't really know what's the odds for that are, but as waiting for the opponent to make the first move, you can be very surprised... ANYTHING can happen on a 160 troops vs 165 troops. You can win with a 60 troops to advance or finish 3 vs 80 troops... The more troops you have, the more possibilities you got!

I remember on a Feudal Epic game, I had 140 troops, trying to take down 14 neutral territories and take down a 135 troops. I decided to go on. I had (with the auto-assault button) the worst bad luck I ever had in a turn, I came in front of the 135 troops with 58 troops... I was so frustrated I decide to kill my troops and clicked auto-assault button again. Guess what, it finished 3 troops for me and 8 troops to him! taking 14 neutral of 1 or 2 armies, I lose almost 100 troops and right after I take down 127 troops with 55 troops. Like I said, anything can happen! Just saying that, with the auto-assault button, each time you click you can be damn lucky or the opposite.

They are a lot of strategy that can be used on WWII Poland, not only to stack! As an example: shoop76 on game Game 10427367 got me by attacking early. He was proactive, he did not wait and stack, that's why I was so frustrated to lose it. Can't blame the dices, he did well! I was talking to you about waiting too much and being surprise?

That's what happened on a game that I was second to play, but I go for PAF and take down those opponents general... and it works! A 160 troops vs 165 troops anything can happen! 56 troops vs 60 troops is the same. That's what happened on game Game 10272399 and Game 10156626 (you got to see this reaction! he was shock, but recognize that I played well and he did wait too long). These guys know how to play this map!

"Newbies" will make mistakes and wait too long, you'll get them easy. That's why everyone thinks the first to move will lose. Against good opponents that know well this map you'll got to use strategy and ruse to win it. You got to have a long term plan. Stay in control. A strategy should not be about the dices, but about moves.

A word about 8 player escalating games

In an 8 players escalating game, I want to have a low profile and wait for my occasion, I do not want to be "the one to beat." There are lots of article about those kind of games. Right now, "The Bonus Monkey is your friend..." by Viceroy63, is an article that you should read. It is really interesting. So for now, I won't write about those types of games.

Example for doubles

For doubles, it will depend on the map if I want to be proactive or reactive. I got an example of a game I have played where my partner and I were proactive and I'm proud of winning it. The game is Game 10120366, that's a double game of 3 teams, on the Iberia map.

First few rounds were really intense, fighting for each progression. By giving almost all my troops to Mishalex, he was able to take Valencia and keep it. After that I systematically attack enemies bonuses, troops given by Mishalex were helpful. This game was hard to win, but we had a good strategy, we didn't have the strategy of just staying in our foxhole's and grow. We just wanted 1 bonus and make sure that no one else does.

We were dictators, forcing the enemies to attack where we wanted. By taking a region of opponent's bonus, he will try to take back this region to have the bonus again. By doing so, they weren't attacking Mishalex's bonus.

Conclusion

Being proactive or reactive always depends on settings and map. So what preference do you have?

Finally for those interested, I got an advice. Never follow a code or patterns blindly. Best strategy is to be unpredictable. Be smart, quick, aware. Mainly, don't let the enemy decide what you'll play, stay in control. The strategy is not about a dice, but a dice can help your strategy.

The Bonus Monkey is your friend, leave him for last.(Part 02) "The Benefits of the Bonus Monkey"By Viceroy63

In Part one of, “The Bonus Monkey is your friend, Leave him for last,” we examined the only ideal situation under which it would be beneficial to acquire and own a bonus zone. But lets be perfectly clear about the fact that owning a bonus zone is not what makes one a BM. It's the obsession of owning a bonus zone at the willingness to sacrifice other greater strategical locations and considerations on the board and potential stacks in order to gain and maintain the bonus zone.

In this second part, of this three part article, we will examine the benefits that BM's provide for the rest of the players in the game, not themselves and what to watch out for and how to gain the advantage with correct play. The key to taking advantage of the situations that BM's create is to be watchful and patient and playing accordingly which includes moving your stacks to the most strategic location possible where you can be ready to strike when the time comes.

The BM actually provides a variety of services if you will, to the rest of the players in the game. One of the services that the BM provides is, That they actually make it easier to eliminate players that we might not otherwise be able to eliminate on our own. And by reducing the area needed to conquer and eliminate other players on the board, the BM help the rest of us to do more with less troops. As an example, take a look at the next two photos.

These two photos can be seen on the SoC thread, "Debriefing of Game 10476657." The link is provided above. It is an open to all forum that you can visit and leave as many comments as you'd like. In regards to the game that is. I often drop by to see if there are any new comments and discussions are welcomed on these threads.

Both photos are the same game. The first photo is the initial troop placement of the players. The second photo is from the beginning of round 04 of the same game. As you can well see that by round 04, Yellow, Red and Blue have been removed from South America by Pink. Red and Cyan also have been removed from Oceania by Green. This act of conquering these two bonus zones, made these colors more easily accessible to each other or all the players in the game.

The services that the BM's have provided in this scenario is that the colors that have been removed from these bonus regions are now easier targets for elimination to each other simply because there are now less of those troops to conquer. Also the area in which to conquer them in, is now limited to 4 continents instead of 6. Because the area of battle is reduced, then the troops needed to eliminate those colors do not have to be as much as when they were also located in those other bonus zones as well. Take a look at this next photo from a different SoC game and compare for yourselves the greater difficulty required to eliminate any player from that game.

(Photo 03) - A different SoC Game Round 06

Notice for example in photo 03, where Cyan has four good stacks in three different continents. Red has contact with Cyan in North America and in Asia but not in South America. In order for Red to get to Cyan at Buenos Aires, he must first fight and conquer Green's 6 troops at Sao Paulo. This makes it difficult for Red, for example, to eliminate Cyan. In this game it is round 06 and there are no bonus monkeys so this game must develop along a longer and more difficult path. Not with standing any errors that players may or may not make in the game.

What we must be watchful for then, from the very beginning is, who were the initial colors that dropped in the southern continents. That way when we see any BM activity, then we shall know who our potential targets will be for they will become the weaker of the colors. This includes of course the BM himself. In the above photo or third photo there are no BM activity thus this game will be that much harder to win because there is no BM activity simplifying the game for everyone else.

In other words there are no BM services being provided, so this other SoC game will not be a short and sweet game over in about 8 or 9 rounds. I predict that games such as these do in fact go the distance of up to 11 or 12 rounds and that what we see is at the very least two massive spoils trade in, with the spoils trade reaching as high as 30 or 40 troops per trade in, when the fire works really begin. This is anyone's game, but the keener eye will prevail.

Other services that the BM provide is that among novice players there is the psychological need for those players to assault the BM's bonus zone at all cost. The thought of receiving 2 extra spoils per turn in the short term panics some players and there is simply the self created mission to break that bonus zone at all cost. These are hostilities that are not aimed at us who are simply building stacks here and there. So the BM is actually drawing fire away from us and that is a good thing! An Excellent service being provided there.

Sometimes you may even see two or more players actively fighting for a bonus zone. Leave them be, Please. While they are at it they weaken themselves and become our potential targets. When we see such things happening in our games, this is when we should be on the alert an ever ready to move our stacks or divide them if necessary to locations that while they may not be prime locations on the map such as Dubai or Moscow, those locations will bring us closer to within striking distance of our targets.

Prime locations can change locations in respect to the activity that is going on in the game. BM's are a very large part of the momentum of a game. So when we see BM activity, we must ask ourselves; "Where should I be just in case I get the chance to eliminate those weaker players? How can I best get there while still maintaining my large numbers of troops. Remember that the world is round. At least in the Classic Map it is? =)

Also we need to consider those colors that are right next to the bonus zones. That's because as mentioned, The true BM gives no consideration to any other stack but rather drops all troops on the bonus zone and expands outward from there. And here again we must ask ourselves some questions;

"What happens if the BM expands and take those troops right next to his as well?"Are we in any good position to take the remainder of those colors should the BM remove those colors first?""If we are next to a bonus zone, should we consider moving from those locations in view of a BM expansion?"

In some cases and especially when working within a game alliance (in the chat box), A BM could be trapped in his bonus zone and forced to fight some one? No matter who the BM attacks, he loses. While this may appear to be unfair, there are no rules against forming alliances so long as it is done through the game chat. But really those kinds of tactics are unnecessary as the BM's own nature of play usually does him in with out any help from any player.

In the end, having a BM in the game is great for the many services that they provide the rest of the players. The BM's activity is predictable and therefore easy to plan our game around his. By anticipating what the BM's next move will be, we can easily plan for it and even prepare counter moves for it. So the next time that you see a Bonus Monkey in your game, Don't hate him because his beautiful.

Look on the bright side and remember, You may not know him, But he is your friend and he is going to help you win the game, if you watch his moves and pay attention to the whole game.

Debriefing of Dhallmeyer Game 10727863By Viceroy63 and Assessed by Dhallmeyer

Debriefing of Dhallmeyer Game 10727863Episode One: "An Early Kill"By Viceroy63Assessed by Dhallmeyer

Game 10727863 Round 03 Cyan to Play

Dhallmeyer's Assessment of Round 01 and 02

Initial thoughts going in:

Yuck! A small map, only 4 starting spots each. I'm last to play and someone already relieved me of one spot. Two of my remaining 3 regions were bordering each other, so I put My 3 troops for the first round on the odd stack and combined the two other regions into one stack. I don't remember if there were any singles available, but it wouldn't have mattered, I was already in survival mode.

When round 2 came around, I did a quick check of troop strength, and saw Gilligan was down to 2 spots, which I had access to. I verified that it was a Terminator game (I might have left him in a Standard or non-tourney game). Then I weighed the chances of taking him out, and figured it was worth the gamble. The tournament awards points for kills, so that made the choice a little easier.

In my opinion, a certain set of circumstances are necessary for an early kill like this: Small map + many players helps a lot. Board placement is also key, I was in a game the other day where a player spent every man for three or four turns in a row trying for a spoil (leaving only 5 or 6 singles), but no one took him out because of the way we were spread out. Finally, a lot of luck/ignorance from other players helps the process along; if Shai and perchorin had noticed Gilligan's weakness, I doubt they would have taken a spot for spoils. Note that aalii played after perchorin and before me, but did not have placement to try for Gilligan.

Viceroy63 Questions for Dhallmeyer

Question:I took a peek at that other game that you mentioned in your assessment. Was it a team game? A round 03 elimination in that game? Do you see early eliminations in team games often enough like you did in the game that you mentioned above? Or are those truly rare instances even in "team" games?

Answer:The old game I posted was a 5 player Escalating terminator, something I almost never play now, at least on classic. In team games it's not uncommon for one team to focus their fire on one particular player and take them out early, but round 2 is still impressive.

Question:How do you rate that "Greater China" Map in General. What Do you like and dislike about that Map?

Answer:Greater China: I have no particular problem with the map on its own, but since my specialty is escalating, I have learned to seek out certain prerequisites before joining non-tourney games:A, Territories divided by players is a whole number (I hate dealing with neutrals in escalating games);B, Starting Territories should be at least as many as players (6 players=36 or more territories, 8 players=64 or more, etc) this gives a fair chance for a decent drop all the way around, plus more opportunities to consolidate, which is the key to escalating. 28 territories for 8 players is REALLY cramped.

Question:And a final question; I noticed that Gilligan's first move was to assault your 3 troops at "Liaoning."

In consideration of the SoC Manuel, the F4M, how do you rate that move and do you believe that it help you by weakening Gilligan?

Answer:Gilligan's play: That's a tough question, with lots of factors to weigh, including the other players' outlook. One could make a solid case for your suggestion: Had Gilligan not attacked first round, he may have been stronger and dissuaded others from nibbling. But in a small map situation like this, card spots can be hard to come by since people have few chances to fortify and leave singles. I think in the end it was just a perfect storm lined up against him.

Game Log of Round 01 and 022012-03-06 02:17:15 - Game has been initialized

Hello again my friends, and welcome to your favorite part of the Newsletter, "War Games", where you can find information about CC Tournaments! In this issue, James interviews Butters1919, while DaveH and NoSurvivors continue their long-running series.

In this interview, we meet briefly with Butters1919, who's known in the tournament community as an organized and efficient organiser. He's hosted a total of 23 competitions, 21 of which are part of his TKO (Triple Knock-Out) series. Only four months off the ground, the series is rapidly expanding, welcoming more CC maps as it grows. To date, the TKO series is the only triple-elimination series on the site. Accompanying his TO accolades are 9 tournament achievement medals and 3 general achievement medals.

Your tournament stood out to me because it's triple-elimination.Is it a challenge organising triple-elimination tournaments? How do you go about keeping everything straight?

First off, I can't take credit for creating the bracket. I found it here. I started playing tournaments in the fall of last year and was quickly hooked. I played in a few double elimination tournaments that were fun! I was not aware of the DE bracket before playing. I was curious if there were higher order knock-out brackets and a quick search led me to that site.

I have a spreadsheet for each TKO that I run that is easy to update as the games finish. Any time I create a new match-up, I simply copy and paste the spreadsheet into photoshop and save it as an image file. I then upload the updated bracket to imageshack and link to it from the first post in the tourney thread. I also change the colour of the players name in the tread as well as in the bracket so that their opponents can see how many losses (if any) everyone has.

Since they are easy to run, I like to have multiple tourneys going on once. My original plan was to post a new one every time one filled and started. But, since it's only 16 players, they fill fast! They can sometimes take a while to wrap up, especially if you get a slow player or two. I quickly realized I would have far too many ongoing at the same time. I have 8 ongoing at the moment and that is a good number. Once I have one more wrap up, I'll post the next (San Marino).

What motivated you to host tournaments on CC?

After participating in a bunch of tourneys, I thought it might be fun to host one, which I did. The first did not go so well! It was not a TKO however. From an organizational standpoint, it went quite smoothly, but let's just say it was not without controversy! Let's not go there! I've learned my lesson and have had no issues since. And I quite enjoy hosting, perhaps as much as playing. I would like to win one of the TKOs one day, but should that ever happen, it won't bring an end to the series. I played in many of greenoaks' KISS tourneys and that inspired me to start a series of my own. I think having a format that players recognize and can partake in time and time again is great! Most of the players I get now have played in multiple of my TKOs. But, that said, every tourney has at least 1, if not 2 new players, which I like.

What do you think of the whole tournament atmosphere?

I like the tourney atmosphere. It has its weaknesses, no doubt, but as a community run organization, I think it works quite well. Perhaps one day I'll think about asking to get more involved in running the community, but for now, I'm happy to keep hosting and participating! I used to complain about the almost endless supply of 1v1 Doodle Earth tourney's that pop up (I think a lot of medal hunters host them to get a quick plaque for their wall), but to be honest, everyone loves them, so who cares!

Any other tourney ideas in the wraps?

I'm tackling the quadruple elimination right now, but unfortunately the tourney design site does not have a quad bracket for 16 players (the minimum for a CC tourney). So, I've gone with an 8 player bracket and am running it as a Dubs tourney. So far so good! But I doubt I'll run those often, I prefer the 1v1.

It's been good talking with you. Thanks for taking part in the interview

Both follow the format of having 16 players with 4 players playing Terminator and everyone playing their 15 opponents only once. I tried a similar tournament of 4 player Assassin, each player playing their 15 opponents only once, and found that it was not at all easy to form unique groupings.

Groups of 3 are easy: Round 1 ABC, DEF, GHI; Round 2 ADG, BEH, CFI; Round 3 AEI, BFG, CDH nd Round 4 CEG, BDI, AFH. This is easier to see if you have a matrix: The grouping are across; down, diagonally right and diagonally left.

With groups of 4 the same method works - but not quite in the same way. I worked out that with 5 sets of 4 you would meet everyone once, but the combinations of players would not work. I eventually resorted to the web (thanks to mathtalk-ga!) and found that this is also a scheduling method used for golf foursomes and dinner parties!

You start with the 4 x 4 matrix and can start with two rounds across and down the matrix i.e.That gives Round 1; ABCD, EFGH, IJKL and MNOP: Round 2; AEIM, BFJN, CGKO and DHLP.

But diagonals don't work, and you have to look at the following two symmetrical patterns:

This gives two of the remaining groups that A plays in: AFLO and AHKN. But what about the other three matches in these two groups?

This is the clever bit (that I would never have thought of!). You take the same pattern but start at the other three corners! i.e. MJHC and MLGB from the "M" corner; PKEB and PIFC from the "P" corner and DGIN and DEJO from the "D" corner.

The final four games (Round 5) are based around the following two patterns:This gives AGJP and BHIO, and their vertical reflections of MKFD and CELN (which are the only other remaining possibilities anyway!).

Which leaves us with the possibility that Chapcrap is really the mathmatical genius "mathtalk-ga" and perhaps he even knows how to uniquely schedule 5 player matches?

Summary of Player CombinationsA B C DE F G HI J K LM N O P

A E I MB F J NC G K OD H L P

A F L OM J C HP K B ED G I N

A H K NM B G LP C F ID E J O

A G J PD F K MB H I OC E L N

If anyone out there does know how to uniquely schedule 5 and more player games, please let me know!

(These "tips" are ones that I have tried to make it a bit easier in managing my own tournaments. I am sure there are different and better methods than these, so please let me know. Any queries on the above I'll be glad to respond to!)

And now for our regular look at a selection of the tournaments in sign-ups:

1. World Cup of Conquer Club MapsBrought to my attention by our beloved dukasaur, my number one pick was changed instantly when I saw this tournament. It is a TPA2 tourney, that is in need of help, considering there is a huge number of players needed to fill it. You get to pick your own map and settings (mind you that your map must be on the list of approved maps)! So why not sign up for a big tourney and help fill this up? Spots wont wait, sign up today!

2. The King's KnightsMy number 2 pick this week is a combination of the Kings Court map, and the Knights map. The tourney itself has a scoring system of 5 points for a win in the 1v1 games, and for the terminators, 3 per kill and then 3/7 for a win (depending on the game size). So go grab your sword and shield and join up!

3. TPA Premier Event presented by HAMy number 3 is a TPA tourney run by the king of tourneys himself, HighlanderAttack! This is kind of like HA's 200th, but you are only allowed to join 2 games, and they're all on random map! So if you enjoyed his 200th tourney, then you're guaranteed to have fun!

5. CAESAR (THE ROMAN WORLD)You are back in time in my number 5 pick this week, and Julius Caesar has been assassinated! You are sent out on a series of missions to become the next king of Rome! You'll play on the various maps of Rome, making the theme, well... Rome! So join the fight and conquer Rome today!

If you're craving tourney action now, check out the Requests for Immediate Players section of the tournament forum. You can be playing very quickly after signing up as a reserve.

Where did that fortnight go? Hmmm? Oh well, never mind. Lot's of action in the foundry and Koontz1973 gives us a wrap up in his Foundry News. Koontz brings us a very full breakdown of where all the maps are at in his What's Where. Can you believe it - ten maps in Beta!! I do a spotlight on the new King's Court 2 map - which excites me! Nothing from Flapcake or Disco Bandit this time, but hopefully we'll see something from them next issue!

This, from Nicholas Charles Trublet:

To select well among old things, is almost equal to inventing new ones.

It has been said that good things come to those that wait. After last issues non event in the news department, we get a bucket full this time.Nothing says America more than Chuck Norris kicking some good old fashioned ass. But this time we can defiantly say that there is a winner in the America revamp competition. Just do not know it yet so like you, we have to wait.

Thanks to all of you that donated to the Kelebogile [SOS Africa] school fund, we are already playing this map by thenobodies. A great looking map for a great cause. And one that is proving quite nice to play as well as to look at.viewtopic.php?f=64&t=167953

What reminds you of maps that you play. viewtopic.php?f=127&t=167752MrBenn started this discussion as he thought this building reminded him of the old classic Art map.natty dread took the easy route. Are there any more objects that remind you of maps?Here is mine for classic map.

Snippetsthehippo8 is looking for a couple of new reporters to start writing for the dispatch in the foundry section. Anyone who wants a stab at it can do so. Just give him a PM and let him know what, when and why.

Knights by koontz1973 enters Beta. This new map goes back to the 5 reinforcements. Should be uploaded next week.

Drafting RoomRoberth is plodding along with Sweden.Gillipig is having a second go at map making. Lets hope this proves a better subject than math and he stays around long enough to finish this one.sannemanrobinson brings us the Incas.tkr4lf brings us the first new map this week. It is of the Black sea region. Looking good.j21623 is another newcomer. Not only to the site, but to maps as well. He wants to turn the world upside down. The Temporally Confused Corrective Map of the WorldMain FoundryBaltic states from Brucewar has come back from vacation. Struggle for Oil: Central Asia 2020 was started by pamoa, went on vacation and started up again by pamoa just in the nick of time. This was one of the first maps I ever ventured into and was sorry to see it go. So glad to have it back in the foundry.Another map that has seen its fair share of vacations. And another new one that will be with us soon I hope. Dark Continent by The Bison King.The foundries own RedBaron0 is fighting away to get Philadelphia done. We could al do with some more unique maps like this.Czech Slovak break up by oneyed is in the main foundry now.dana1971 is fighting for his cow. After all of the rustling, a winning solution may of been found. Now called 4 star meats.Wizards by natty dread.Clash of Kings by DiM is looking for game play nuances to be ironed out in what looks like to be the first true 1v1 map for the site.Lastly in the main foundry this week is DiMs Pirates and Merchants map. Each player starts with a different pirate or merchant and has to complete his tasks first. Each one has a different task to complete and the names of the pirates should be familiar to some of you.Final ForgeThis section is getting a little busy with a lot of maps ready for play. With the 10 maps in beta play we have 8 maps waiting to get going.With xml stamps.Salams Switch by cairnswk.1982 by koontz1973.Eurasia (large) by natty dread.Kings Court 2 by KabanellasRail Asia by cairnswkWaiting for the xml.Baltics Crusade by thenobodies80.Knights and Warlocks by DiM.Trench Warfair by FlapcakeEurasia Mini by natty dread

For me, playing different maps is exciting. There is a phase where you think to yourself: Oh dear what have I got myself into now? Then there’s the: Oh, that’s so obvious – why couldn’t I get that before? Finally, there’s the point of maturing where you are all about: So if I do this then he does that and I do this and then I’ve got ‘em! I have reached the second phase in King’s Court (the original version) where I only recently understood that you take an Archer and then deploy all on that Archer then take the next Archer and so on until you reach your opponent’s Castles and bombard them. From there you still need to go across country because you can’t shift the pieces from the Archers to the Castles. You need to take the Castles to get to the Nobles or the game will never end! Well, for the rest of you this may be obvious, indeed you may prefer Knights to Archer’s but for the same strategy. I prefer Archers because they are only 2 neutrals to get rather than 3 and early in the game that makes an enormous difference (for me anyway). I can’t say I have sufficient experience to say I am anywhere near phase 3, but at least I am out of phase 1!! And being a typical – let me run before I can walk – kind-a-guy, I want to deploy this understanding to other maps. Now that isn’t immediately available until - Tra-la-lah – along comes King’s Court 2 and boy oh boy am I happy!!

The map

Kabanellas is one of those map makers that impresses right out of the box. A self-confessed perfectionist and a true master of gameplay/imagery symbiosis, a paragon, an exemplar, a crackerjack, the proverbial humdinger. Okay, I may be waxing lyrical but the initial map deployed into the Foundry was pretty much complete! The discussion was primarily around trees and lines but not a jot of suggestion that the location of important pieces or gameplay concepts needed a jot of alteration! Here’s the current version of the map, if you haven’t seen it yet:

Click image to enlarge.

The map is immediately recognisable as being the second in the set (I say second because I hope the serious continues to at least a third!!). But there are vast differences, including:

Ten starting positions instead of eight. More importantly, each starting position has a different environment and a player’s technique and plan needs to take that into account. This issue was address by a question by tkr4lf when he queried:

Most castles have 1 knight in an adjacent hex, but then you have HD castle with 2 knights in adjacent hexes and HF with no knights in adjacent hexes. What's the reasoning behind this?

It seems like HF castle is at a disadvantage compared to the others, especially since the closest knight is 6 hexes away, and is actually closer to HE castle than to HF.

Now, I notice that (to make up for it, I guess?) HF has 2 archers in adjacent hexes, and another archer 2 hexes away, and HD has no archers anywhere near it, but from the few games I've played on KC the knights have much more value than the archers.

Is this done just to differentiate between the castles, or is there another reason?

Yes Tk, I wanted to make Castles have some differentiating characteristics between themselves - that could add some interesting playability on FOG games and players would need to adjust strategies depending on what Castles they'd start on.

As for that particular Castle you've mentioned, to compensate the lack of Knights I've added 1 Archer to its cluster and plus 2 on its zone of influence. I've also added 3 Woods for production.

Of course that some of this features might need some adjustment after BETA testing

The King it's not a neutral killer anymore. It can be held and will yield either a positive or a negative bonus depending on what the player holds. For instance, for each Counsellor you hold you will receive 2 extra troops as long as you do not own any castles. On the other hand, if you own a castle then you will lose 5 troops for each castle. There is a real disincentive in prematurely holding the King. This is a bit like holding the gas chamber or the cells in the hole without holding the warden in Supermax Prison Riot.

New features have been added: Mines, Woods, Ports, Cathedrals and the College of Cardinals. The Ports, with their auto-deployment, are necessary, gameplay-wise, to connect the larger board in a balanced way. The Mines and Woods add realism and are themselves a way of gaining additional bonuses. The Cathedrals, also with auto-deployment, are balanced by the College of Cardinals and also further add to realism – importance of the religious institution to balance the King as in real life.

As an added element of realism, the College of Cardinals can bombard (excommunicate) all Court members, including the Counsellors, Nobles and the King. Essentially a very powerful role which will have a crucial part in stopping another person from reaching their objective.

An Admiral has been added to the Council. The Admiral can attack the Ports and provides balance to what could otherwise become an overwhelming position to hold.

The roads now take part in game dynamics and are not just for graphical purposes like in the previous version. You can now link features for additional bonuses, such as the Mines and Woods to a castle.

All non-important hexes, those without roads on them, will lose 2 armies per round to signify attrition (as in supply lines drying up). Rather than mindlessly trawling around the board, careful consideration will need to be had about what direction to travel and what protections to leave behind.

Noble families now have a name instead of just letters making the lay-out more attractive. They're also represented on map by their unique coat-of-arms. This is an excellent innovation that will greatly assist comprehension for in-game play. I don’t know how many people would attempt this as a speed game but it would be crucial in that mode!

But probably the most important innovation, is that the game can now be won by objective. Not an easy option, by any stretch of the imagination, as you will need to hold the King, 6 Castles, 6 Nobles and 6 Knights – but if one player is significantly ahead then it may be an easier route to concluding the game than taking over the whole board.

HIPPO assessment (being modification of my old chart in a vain attempt at objectivity) to this map

Heuristics – The variety of starting positions assist with creativity in the decision making process. Whilst on the one hand the strategic concepts learned in King’s Court 1 are directly applicable to this map, on the other hand they will be insufficient to win the day. The additions, already discussed, greatly add to the complexity of gameplay. Players will need to think very carefully in what they do and no one strategy could be considered right. There will need to be a careful consideration of what your opponent(s) are doing at all times. This might be a great team game as then more than one mind will be employed to help avoid dead wood thinking and missing important aspects of the game.

Intrigue – Unlike simple maps, this map will always surprise. I can’t help but boggle at what fog would be like here, let alone adding nuclear spoils to the mix! There is the added interest in knowing when is the right time to take the King in objective chasing or the unpredictability in owning the College of Cardinals. I can only but marvel at the tension in multi-player games.

Planning – I prefer 1 minute games with simple maps. Why? Because I’m too lazy to plan or think too much. This is a diversion after all. But seriously, this is one map where planning will be essential – both on a meta level (in what you are doing and why) and on a micro level (this move or that). In chess theory this dichotomy is referred to as the difference between positional play versus tactical play. In fact both are always needed but good tactics will often trump poor positional understanding any day. This map provides a wealth of opportunity to have a big picture perspective. No mindless diversion this!

Progression – As the game develops it will become clear whether the gameplay choices made from the beginning were right or wrong. But there is an additional element in this game, that of auto-deploys and extra bonuses. It may be possible to pull back an otherwise lost game. Another parallel from chess: a pawn may become a queen in an endgame. It is impressive the amount of consideration that Kabanellas has put into balancing the game and as the game progresses that balance will prove to be crucial. This will still, however, be a game that will quickly separate those in the know to the pretenders to the throne!

Overall – The efforts Kabanellas has gone to in adding elements of realism will make this a classic map for the discerning mind. It’s the sort of map that people will be in awe of and anyone who gets good at will feel proud of the efforts they put in. But it is not a map to enter into lightly and if you can’t be bothered thinking and planning and preparing and angsting then you should probably steer clear. Not a map for everyone this, but a perennial favourite for others. Top marks Kabanellas, well done indeed!!

4 months into the year and we finally have a champion for the 2nd edition of the Conquerors Cup! Read on as QuikSilver deciphers each of the finalists route to fight for the pedestal.In the Newcomers Cup, skill presents the latest and greatest as action heats up in semi-final action.And we're proud to present another F400 ranking as Gunn presents the movers and shakers in competitive clan play, just in time for seedings in Conquer Cup 3 to be determined

Elsewhere, Phase 2 of Clan League action is soon to commence, while the Divisional Cups, trophies and shields are due to start within the month!

TSM was already respected by other clans as a real threat in clan wars, their showing in this competition was so good that they are now rank second in the F400 ranking system. They didn't have much trouble taking down TNC, AFOS and LoW. However, the semi-final against THOTA was a completely different story. At the end of the 60 games a tie-breaker was still needed to determine the winner. TSM won the 7th game to win the war. That was very close, closer than everyone thought possible, with the 2 clans only separated by 1 game over 110+ games of clan competition. TSM is on their way to the final and now, anything can happen!

All wars were a total rampage. Seems nothing can't stop the champions of the first conqueror's cup. They seem really motivated to keep that title and win the second edition. No opponents seems to really put pressure on them. FOED and EMP are good competitors and they are not easy to take down. They both have really good players in their formation, however KoRT seems unstoppable in this quest. Their showing in this competition even put them in the top spot of the F400. Is TSM able to stop them?

The Final

First of all congratulation to both clan for making the final, that's not easy. For a tournament that started one year ago, no one lost interest in the cup.

Both clan already prove that they belong to the elite in Conquer Club's clan world. No surprise to see them both in this final. KoRT was the winner of the first edition and knows what it takes to win the CC2. They are smashing anyone between them and that trophy!

The score is now 33 KoRT - 22 TSM, so KoRT win the second edition of the conqueror's cup!

TSM knows how to win close clan wars, I thought they had a chance to tie this series, but KoRT took a big early lead in this series, a lead they kept until the end. Well done to both clans in this final.

For a tourney that groups almost every clan it's huge, that's why the victory will be so rewarding for the winner. Imagine winning it twice...

Well we have a couple of great match ups going on right now, and by the looks of it both will be nail biters to watch. All games are 45 game wars. Higher seed has 22 games, lower has 23 games.

vsIn our 2 vs 3 seed we have a couple of the older clans in this war going at it. It sure is a great battle going on with a very close score of 6-11 GR leading. GR are looking strong going into their home set, but should only be up by a few games overall going into their home set. All the games going are are fairly close and could end up swinging in either direction. But it does look like it should be a good second half overall. I expect GR's home games to come out in about a week or so, then we will be able to see the outcome of this war very soon.

vsNow we have the unseeded clans. With MD being the slightly higher seed they got to play their home set of games first. All of MD's games are completed, and the current core is 11-11 Tied. LHDD will have their home games out shortly and the fun should start up again. The way MD has been playing recently I expect them to be able to keep this close. MD looks like they are the only clan right now who are able to keep up with LHDD's skill, or are LHDD running out of beginners luck?